Dear Darrell, This looks like a member of the order Diptera, and we wrote to Eric Eaton for assistance, but in the meantime, we continued to research and we found this Green Midge from Canada pictured on BugGuide. We believe this is a Midge. Here is another BugGuide image but this individual is from California.

Subject: Bug question Location: Bemidiji Minnesota June 3, 2017June 3, 2017 8:41 am These bugs are all over the outside of our cabin. Wondering what they are and how to get rid of them. Signature: Kelli Roxhe

Male Midge

Dear Kelli, This is a male Midge in the family Chironomidae. According to BugGuide, they are: “Small, delicate flies, resemble mosquitoes but do not bite. Often “dance” in the air in large swarms over water or lawns. At rest, characteristically hold their front legs above head-height and extended forward, giving the illusion of elongate antennae to the untrained eye.” BugGuide notes that the habitat is: “Usually damp areas, or near bodies of water. Larvae mostly aquatic; a few occur in decaying matter, under bark or in moist ground. Larvae of some species tolerate seasonal desiccation.” We do not provide extermination advice.

Subject: Swarming MidgesLocation: Mount Washington, Los AngelesMay 14, 2017 5:21 PMThough we pride ourselves on daily postings, even postdating submissions to go live when we are away from the office, we have not had a live post in a week due to a bout of pneumonia hospitalizing our editorial staff, but Daniel is now back on the job. This image of Dancing Midges is several weeks old, but we are always thrilled to see this phenomenon, generally in the spring, and frequently near the Los Angeles River.

Subject: Curious about bug in rural area Location: Thornton, CO; rural May 5, 2017 6:08 pm Hi! We get these particular bugs around our house every year and my husband thinks they’re mosquitos but I think they are more related to something like a silverfish. We live near an alfalfa farm, horses and water in Colorado. We would appreciate your help on our debate! Signature: Lori G

Male Midge

Dear Lori, While you are both incorrect, your husband is actually closer in his identification. This is a male Midge in the family Chironomidae, and Midges are classified together with Mosquitoes in the infraorder Culicomorpha. Here is a similar looking BugGuide image. According to BugGuide, they are called: “Non-biting Midges, Blind Mosquitoes, Common Midges” and they are described as “Small, delicate flies, resemble mosquitoes but do not bite. Often “dance” in the air in large swarms over water or lawns. At rest, characteristically hold their front legs above head-height and extended forward, giving the illusion of elongate antennae to the untrained eye. Other family characters wings long and narrow, without scales (wings of mosquitoes have scales) males have long, feathery (plumose) antennae … .” If you have standing water near you home, you might have seen their aquatic larvae known as Bloodworms. BugGuide also notes: “The haemolymph of the red Chironomus larvae, called “bloodworms,” contains hemoglobin, unusual for insects. Larvae are often very abundant and are an important food item for many freshwater fish and other aquatic animals.” Several weeks ago we shot a poor quality image of Dancing Midges and we have not had a chance to post it yet.

Subject: blood wormsLocation: Mount Washington, Los Angeles, CaliforniaMay 1, 2017 9:18 pmThough it might make us unpopular with the neighbors, we keep standing water in the yard for wildlife, and we skim with a net daily to feed Mosquito Larvae to the Angelfish, and Boris is still thriving alone in his tank since killing Medea Luna several years ago. This week the Mosquito Larvae have been replaced by Blood Worms, the larvae of non-biting Midges, and Boris has been greedily eating everyone put in the tank.

Subject: Bug ID Location: Mississippi January 16, 2017 5:16 pm I cannot ID this very small bug. 5mm maybe. I think it might be a midge? It was taken in Mississippi in April. Signature: Stephen Kirkpatrick

Male Midge

Dear Stephen, We wanted to be certain this male Dipteran was indeed a Midge, so we contacted Mosquito expert Angel van Gulik who wrote back to us: “That is a rather beautiful midge. ” We will attempt a species identification for you. We believe based on this BugGuide image, that it is in the genus Ablabesmyia. The genus is described on BugGuide as being: “A distinctive genus, with hairy, dark-spotted wings; three or more brown bands on each tibia; acrostichal hairs diverging around a more or less prominent circular spot in front of the scutellum; and cubical fork sessile (M-Cu intersects C at or after fork).”